March 20 6:14am  Update.  Insider has learned that the last night the Tennessee Senate recessed without voting on legislation to fix Tennessee’s sign law.  The bipartisan senate bill was crowded out by last minute efforts to pass a budget and recess amid coronavirus concerns.  The Senate will consider the bill when the Tennessee Assembly comes back in session in June.

HB 2255, a fix for Tennessee’s sign law passed the Tennessee House by a vote of 89-1.   Some highlights from floor discussion.

Representative Dan Howell:

It became necessary to rewrite Tennessee’s laws governing billboard advertising on state and federal highways after a federal court in Memphis overturned the previous billboard laws on constitutional grounds…The Highway Beautification Act required states to maintain control of outdoor advertising.  I believe that this bill meets that requirement.  It is modeled after the Texas law…Tennessee is not the first, and we probably won’t be the last State to be sued over billboard regulation laws because of challenges to the first amendment…

Tennessee representative Martin Daniel, who also owns Elevation Outdoor:

As you know I’ve been involved in this business for 30 years…The bill is modeled after Texas’ statute which has been in effect for three years and I think it will preserve all of our transportation funding.  Thank you Chairman Howell and I support the bill.

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